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My mind spun with questions. How did he end up there? Where did he live before? But most importantly, where was his mother? Did she die when he was young like mine did, or did she abandon him?
Lucca was right. His words didn’t ease my mind. Instead, they broke for the lost teen who’d once hoped for freedom.
“I must go. I can hear the static growing the longer we are in the air,” he explained, and as much as I didn’t want him to stop talking, I heard the cracking reception buzzing in my ear.
“Okay.”
“Oh, and Katia.”
The ongoing call scratched in weak beats.
“Yes.”
“I will make sure you never have to feel this wayagain.”
Lucca said in a riddle, and after the line disconnected, I clutched my phone tighter and curled deeper into the two large beasts. But his voice remained fresh in my mind. His tone and timbre lingered as his riddle played over and over.
In the break of dawn, I woke up wrapped in the warmth of his arms, entwined with his body as our limbs were woven together. I allowed sleep to claim me again, and as I sank deeper against his body, I solved the riddle.
I’ll kill for you.
XXXIII
LUCCA
They all spoketo one another. A conversation I’d pulled away from with a glass of brown swirling around and around, mirroring the way my mind worked relentlessly as I waited for Salvatore to arrive. I was tired.
Sleep had become a luxury. All I did was think, play, and scheme. At this point, everything I’d done and planned to do stopped revolving around the syndicate, thefamiglia, and it had everything to do withher.
Everything had shifted. The power, the threats,my thoughts. It was dangerous, really. To lose control of my emotions and actions. All driven by sleep deprivation and cruelty.
Vengeance; the sweet and consuming rage that crumbled empires.
It was all I felt because after leaving Texas, the acts of violence had escalated into bloodbaths. As if the weight I carried wasn’t enough, I now had more innocent lives caught in the crossfires. I had taken my private jet back to Miami, drained by the meeting and knowing my streets could be streaming in red. And while I made my point without any misunderstanding, I left with each boss’ blessing, and the underlying warning couldn't have been clearer.
A no-man’s-land.
A war zone.
But I had to stop the death tolls.
I had to stop Tino Borelli at once, and I was ready to share the plan with Salvatore.
“Lucca, are you listening?” Arlo asked from the right corner of my study. The place he always found himself in when we were all together, standing and with arms crossed.
I didn’t remove my gaze from my glass. Instead, I brought it to my lips and took a long sip.
“You haven’t said anything.” Arlo should know, I always listened. No matter if I was a prisoner of my mind,I always listened. I always watched carefully, and never ignored the thoughts they shared, the tone they spoke, or the aura that mixed in the room.
It all mattered.
“Salvatore isn’t hereyet. I am not repeating myself twice.”
My eyes lifted, locking onto his. He wore his usual attire, all black, but today instead of jeans, dress pants hung from his hips. Arlo remained quiet, but his displeasure and annoyance were clearly etched on his features.
Viktor pulled his phone out of his gray pants. He, too, stood by the corner next to Arlo, but he leaned against the bookcase with furrowed brows and paid attention to his screen. His fingers sped across the device, and he eventually returned it to his pocket. I met his steel-blue eyes that popped against his short sleeve white button-up, but he didn’t utter a word. Viktor just sank deeper into the books.
I didn’t ask if there was a problem. I trusted him to address it when it was necessary.
